Having now heard 37 Dai Young post-match press conferences, and spoken to him on countless other occasions both formally and informally, the subject of refereeing has almost never been mentioned.

While it would be wrong to suggest that his Premiership counterparts are all much quicker to point the finger towards the man with the whistle, some undoubtedly are, and there is no question that Wasps’ boss is old-school on the subject.

In Dai’s playing days, the ref was right even when he was wrong - or as the 1991/92 law book told those of us doing our refereeing induction course, we were the ‘sole judge of fact and law.’

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It is much to his credit that he has retained this equitable outlook into his coaching career, when the inability to directly influence outcomes by being on the pitch must at times drive his frustration levels skywards.

When Wasps appear to have suffered as a result of a poor decision, Dai simply says they must deal with what is put in front of them by opponents or officials, rather than being distracted by it. The phrase “we’ve just got to be better than that” is one he has used more than once.

So it was especially interesting to hear his reaction to Jimmy Gopperth being penalised against Northampton under the RFU’s current crackdown on players talking too much to the referee or appealing for decisions.

“We conceded a penalty for Jimmy appealing to the referee, which is something that is unacceptable,” he said.

“We’ve talked about it since, and while similar things have happened in other games, Luke Pearce (the referee) felt he had to make his mark, and that’s fair enough.

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“It was more for appealing than for arguing back, as the decision Jimmy was asking for would have been a penalty for us at the breakdown, but that doesn’t make it any better. The players have been told not to do it, and they have to take it on the chin.”

Young understands that player emotions run high during every game, and in particular a very tense local derby. However, match officials everywhere will salute him for the example his words set to those involved in lower levels of the sport.

“In the heat of the moment it can be difficult not to appeal,” he said, “but it’s not as if the players don’t know the situation. I am totally in agreement with the crackdown, as the last thing we want to see is players running to referees and jumping up and down for decisions or play-acting.

“So there’s no complaints about the decision from our point of view, and it’s something we will continue to discuss, as that penalty could have been really costly.”